The present invention relates generally to the field of apparatus for moving persons into and out of a vehicle and more specifically relates to an improved construction and arrangement for a rotary wheelchair lift apparatus adapted to receive a conventional type wheelchair for moving a user into and out of a vehicle, such as a van or the like, of the type which incorporates a side-door opening whereby the user can easily and quickly be moved from ground level by an initial vertical lifting movement and then by a rotary pivotal movement into the van via the side-door, and then being able to reverse the procedure with the user having full control of the lift apparatus while sitting in the wheelchair to obviate any requirement to leave the wheelchair at any time. The lift apparatus of the present invention is especially suited to the use by disabled persons confined to a wheelchair mode life-style, such as paraplegics and other such disabled persons.
With the advent of our society's desire to participate in various outdoor activities there has been a great expansion in the interest for outdoor recreation particularly in respect to outdoor travel via recreational vehicles, such as recreational vans commonly referred to as RV's. Fortunately, this interest in recreational vehicles has extended itself to disabled persons confined to a wheelchair life-style of living. Such persons including a great number of war veterans have sought to extend their participation in recreation along with others by being able to utilize rather technically sophisticated recreational vans or van conversions which enables the wheelchair user to drive the vehicle under his own control such as by substituting the conventional driver's seat for the wheelchair itself, for example. With this there has been developed a need for an efficient, reliable and safe system which can move the user sitting in his wheelchair into and out of the vehicle with a minimum of effort and yet at a relatively low cost.
Heretofore, various types of devices and/or arrangements have been provided to move the user into and out of the vehicle. One such arrangement has been to utilize various ramp or lift mechanisms associated with the rear or side door of the van. However, these arrangements are not especially satisfactory since they require a lot of working area not conducive to limited parking areas and are not as convenient or easy to operate by the user while sitting in the wheelchair. In another arrangement, a rotary type lift apparatus has been provided for use with the side-door of the vehicle, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,516,559, for example. In this particular lift apparatus there is not provided the structural and/or functional advantages afforded by the present invention for the reasons which will become apparent hereinafter.